Details Emerge for $90M Canadian Casino

Plans for a new destination casino in New Brunswick, Canada move closer toward realization as developer Sonco Gaming New Brunswick L.P. divulges details of the mixed-use property. The $90 million project will carry the distinction of being the first casino in New Brunswick. The group behind Casino New

Plans for a new destination casino in New Brunswick, Canada move closer toward realization as developer Sonco Gaming New Brunswick L.P. divulges details of the mixed-use property. The $90 million project will carry the distinction of being the first casino in New Brunswick. The group behind Casino New Brunswick is a joint venture involving Canadian companies Sonco Gaming Inc., Clairvest Group Inc. and Riseley Gaming Inc., and Las Vegas-based Navegante Group Inc. Financing for the project will consist of $54 million of senior bank debt and $36 million in equity. Clairvest and its Clairvest Equity Partners III L.P. fund will contribute approximately $32 million of the equity, which will leave the company with a 90 percent ownership interest in the development. With a location near the Trans-Canada Highway in the tourist community of Magnetic Hill, Casino New Brunswick will encompass three structures that will be linked by an interior corridor. The first building will house the gaming facility, while the remaining two structures will feature a 128-room hotel and the 1,500-seat Palladium entertainment and convention center, respectively. The partners’ selection of New Brunswick for a new destination was not a random one. “We had a professional market study done and it indicated to us that there is enough of a population and good enough demographics for it,” Larry Woolf, president & COO of Navegante, told CPN today. “The study showed that there is a lack of entertainment in the area, so the casino would fill that void.” Construction of the complex is on target to reach completion in mid-2010.Blog Comments